The Truth Will Lead Me to My Love
by Nina149
Summary: This is a take on what might have happened, if Henry actually let Danielle talk the night of the Masque when he ran up to her.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in Ever After. This is purely for personal reading.

Please read and review. If you like it, I will continue.

This is a take on what might have happened, if Henry actually let Danielle talk the night of the Masque when he ran up to her.

The Royal family is up on the dais and the King begins to speak.

"Friends...honored guests...it gives us great pleasure on this festive occasion...not only to honor Signore da Vinci...who seems to have disappeared...but also to tell you of another awaited decision. So without further ado", the King says.

Prince Henry looks very unhappy as does the King and Queen.

Danielle arrives. She looks beautiful in her mother's dress and the wings that Leonardo made for her.

Her heart is beating very fast. "Breathe. Just breathe", she whispers.

The King says, with a bit of sadness in his voice, "It is my great privilege to announce the engagement of our son, Prince Henry...to-"

Henry abruptly puts his hand on his father's shoulder and quickly stops him from saying the rest of his speech. Henry sees Nicole standing there. "Is that really you Nicole?", he asks himself. He smiles and runs off the dais to Nicole. The crowd moves out of his way.

When he reaches Danielle, he looks into her eyes, still not believing that she actually came back to him. "My mother said you were getting married", he says, as he looks at her with intense eyes.

"She was misinformed but there is something I must tell you before another word is spoken", Danielle tells him, while looking into his eyes and smiling.

He takes her hands in his. Still not wanting to believe it, Henry asks, "Then you're not engaged?"

Danielle smiles at him and says "No, I am not, but I absolutely must talk to you right now. Please Henry, please it is very urgent"

Wondering what could be so important, Henry says, "alright my love let me tell my parents that we need to talk and that we will be back soon".

"Mother, Father, Nicole has come back to me but she has something to tell me in private and it cannot wait. We will be back after we have spoken", he tells his parents.

"Alright Henry, but please don't take all night", the King says to him.

The crowd makes quite a stir.

Danielle takes his hand and leads him out to the courtyard.

"Who is she"? The King asks his wife, not knowing what is going on.

"My guess would be the Comptesse De Lancret", the Queen tells her husband happily.

Ahh. The who? The King asks her, still confused.

The Queen waves her hand at him impatiently.

Henry and Danielle are out in the courtyard. Henry gazes at his love. "You are so beautiful Nicole; you look like an angel, my angel. Have you come back to me"? he asks her while looking at her lovingly. He wanted to plant kisses all over her lips, neck and shoulders but he realizes that it wouldn't be the appropriate time.

"I have never left you Henry. I told you I wasn't getting married. Your mother was misinformed by the Baroness De Ghent. Now please I must speak to you. It is urgent"!!, Danielle tells him with a bit of force in her voice.

"Alright, my love, what is so urgent? He asks.

"First I must tell you that I love you with all my heart, she sighs. I have loved you, I think since the day you took me to the Monastery." "And you know how much I love you Nicole", he tells her.

"Henry, my name is not Nicole, it's Danielle De Barbarac. My father was Auguste De Barbarac and he married the Baroness Rhodmila de Gent when I was 8 years old", she quickly told him. He looks shocked and wanted to speak but she puts her hand up to his mouth. "Let me finish, Henry", she tells him. I never meant to deceive you on purpose. Everything you know about me, and the way that I am, except for my name, is who I am", she informed him.

She continued, "My mother died right after I was born and I have been without a mother ever since. My father thought that I needed a mother and he needed a new wife. He met the Baroness and married her. When he brought her and her daughters home I was so excited to get a new mother and two sisters. My father was a businessman and went away a lot. The day after he brought the Baroness home, he had to go away on business again. I was so upset but I knew that he must go. As he was riding his horse down the driveway, he collapsed and fell off. He died a few minutes later. I was an orphan. I was left in the care of the Baroness who, after a week, moved me out of my room and gave it to Marguerite, and then made me a servant in my own house"!!, she said forcefully. "She also whipped me whenever she thought I was out of line", she told him with sadness. Henry looked shocked and angry but didn't say a word. "That is right My Lord, my own stepmother made me a servant in MY own house", she stressed the word My. For ten years, I have been forcefully made into a servant.

Now I must tell you why I deceived you even though I wasn't really deceiving YOU. The Baroness sold one of our servants, his name was Maurice. He was my father's head steward. Maurice has been like a father to me since my own father died. He is married to another servant; Louise, and I couldn't bear the thought of the two of them being separated. The Baroness sold Maurice to Cartier because she needed money to pay her taxes. Rhodmilla only cared about money and power".

Well at least he isn't mad so far, she thought to herself. There is much more to say Henry, she told him.

"Do you remember the day in the orchid when that girl pelted you with apples? she asked him. "Yes, was that you?" he chucked, remembering that she had very good aim. "Yes, Henry, that was me, but I truly didn't know it was you at first, I thought you were a thief stealing my father's horse", she told him. Henry let out a chuckle. "Remember when you gave me the 20 gold francs"?, she asked him. "Yes", he answered her. I used that money to buy back Maurice", she told him. Henry continued to listen to her very intensely.

"I knew that there was a punishment of 5 days in the stocks for impersonating a courtier but I didn't care. I needed to free Maurice", she told him.

"My friend Gustave got me the gown", she said.

"I never expected to meet you in the courtyard and I certainly didn't think we would ever meet again", she told him.

Henry smiled at her, remembering that day when she quoted Thomas More. I fell in love with you then, he thought to himself. "If it is possible to love you more than I did before Danielle, I do, he lovingly told her, as he gathered her into his arms".

She looked up to him and asked nervously, praying that he would forgive her, "so….so you're not mad at me"? "After what you went through how could I be mad at you and besides I already told you how much I love you", he smiled holding her close.

"Ohhh Henry", she murmured against his chest. He loved feeling her against him.

"Actually it was I who pursued you", he told her. "That day in the courtyard I ran after you. I asked you for a name; any name. It was me who came calling on you to take you to the monastery", he reminded her.

"I will tell you one thing Danielle, Rodmilla and her daughters are going to pay for what they have done", he told her angrily.

"Please don't punish Jacqueline", she pleaded. "She was not unkind to me. Do you remember the day at Amboise when we were kissing and you pulled me closer to you and I screamed"? she asked him. "Yes", he told her. "That morning the Baroness whipped me and Jacqueline tended to my wounds and my back was in pain Henry", she said to him. "So it wasn't me you were running from, my love"?, he questioned her. "Never would I run from you, I only wanted to feel you hold me, it was the pain that caused me to run", she said.

Henry lifted her face up to his and looked into her eyes adoringly and said, "I love you with all my heart and I want you to be my wife". "Ohhhh yes Henry, yes. I love you so much", she said, as she wrapped her arms around him. He placed his lips gently on hers and they kissed.

"After I announce our engagement, I am going to have the guards imprison Rodmilla and Marguerite", Henry told Danielle. She was not looking forward to seeing that as she knew they would put up a fight.

Hand in hand Henry and Danielle walked back into the Masque both knowing that they have found their soul mate.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters in Ever After. This is purely for personal reading.

**Chapter 2**

As Henry and Danielle were walking back into the Masque, Danielle stopped nervously.

"What's wrong, sweetheart"? He asked her.

"I'm very nervous Henry, I'm afraid that Rodmilla and Marguerite will make a terrible scene once they find out about all of this", she told him.

Henry gently lifts her face up, looks into her eyes and said, "Danielle, please do not worry, I will make sure that they do not hurt you. They won't be getting away with this. First, Rodmilla makes you a servant in your own home and then she lies to my mother. My parents will see that justice is done. They will also love you as I do", he tenderly told her with a smile.

"I hope you are right", she said nervously.

"I am, so let us hurry so we can punish Rodmilla and Marguerite and announce our engagement", he quickly said.

Henry and Danielle walked hand in hand back into the Masque. Henry had the biggest smile on his face, Danielle had a nervous smile.

"Ohh look, look I invited the gypsies!", Henry exclaims.

Danielle looks over and smiles at them.

They were walking towards the dais so Henry could introduce her to his parents. Meanwhile, Rodmilla sees all this with rage and grabs a hold of Marguerite's hand and starts pulling at her to move towards Danielle. "What are you doing"? Marguerite asks her mother. "Making you a princess"! Rodmilla exclaims.

All of a sudden Danielle feels a tug at her wings. "Uggghhh", she shouts.

"How dare you!! She is an imposter sire." Rodmilla shouts to Danielle and Henry.

"Baroness you are on dangerous ground. Danielle informs me that you not only made her a servant in her own home but you are also her stepmother", Henry shouts towards his parents and the crowd.

The crowd gasps in horror.

"What is the meaning of this"? The King demands.

Danielle looks to Rodmilla with anger in her eyes.

"If I may speak Your Majesty"?, Danielle asks the King nervously.

"Yes go ahead Mademoiselle, we must get to the bottom of this", Francis tells her.

"Your Highnesses, what Prince Henry just said is true. The Baroness Rhodmilla de Ghent is indeed my stepmother and has made me a servant in my own home for the past 10 years", she tells him.

"You insolent fraud"!!, Rhodmilla screams, as she lunges at Danielle.

Henry quickly moves in front of Danielle.

"Guards, seize them!!, Henry shouts. Two palace guards run up to Rhodmilla and Marguerite and hold them so they can't assault Danielle.

Henry looks over to Danielle and says, "Please tell my father and mother the rest of your story my love".

Danielle looks at the King and Queen and tells them everything that has happened to her for the past 10 years. She starts to cry as she tells them. Henry is right there holding her close. The King and Queen listen in shock and in horror, their eyes showing sympathy for Danielle. She also tells them about how she dressed as a courtier to save her friend's life and how she fell in love with Henry. They looked at her and smiled and thought that she is the perfect match for their son.

The Queen speaks, "Baroness De Ghent, you are forthwith stripped of your title and you and your horrible daughter will be shipped to the Americas on the first available boat".

"No!! No!!", yell Rhodmilla and Marguerite.

"Silence, both of you"!!, demands the King.

"Your Majesties, please do not ship them to the Americas. Please punish them some other way", Danielle pleads.

"Danielle, you want us to be lenient to them after what they did to you"?, the King asks her.

"Yes, Your Majesty I do, because of Jacqueline. They are still her family", she tells the King.

"I can see why my son loves you so much", smiled the king.

Henry looked over to Danielle and was smiling.

"What sort of punishment do you think would befit these horrible women"?, Francis asks Danielle.

Danielle looks over to Rodmilla and Marguerite with an icy cold look in her eyes and says, "I want you to know that I will forget the both of you after this moment and never think of you again. But you, I am quite certain, will think about me for the rest of your lives". She then looks to the King and Queen and says, "All I ask your Majesties, is that you show them the same courtesy that they have bestowed upon me."

"Rodmilla and Marguerite de Ghent, you should kiss the ground that Danielle walks on because I would not have been as lenient. I will do as she asks, and you will from this moment on, become servants in the castle laundry", the King tells them.

"Guards, take them away!!" the King demands.

The guards drag Rhodmilla and Marguerite away kicking and screaming.

"Children, please come here and tell me what is going on with the two of you", the Queen asks them.

"Mother, Father, I have made my choice. Danielle and I are deeply in love with each other and we want to be married", he beams, as he holds Danielle close to him.

Francis looks towards the crowd and says with a chuckle, "shall we try this again? It is my great privilege to announce the engagement of our son Prince Henry to Danielle De Barbarac."

Henry hugs Danielle and gives her a tender kiss. The audience applauds.

"I would like to say something", Henry tells the audience.

"_For my whole life I have never wanted to be king, that is, until I met Danielle. She has taught me so much more in these last few days then my tutors have taught me in my whole life. Danielle, I thank you so much for that", he looks over to her with a loving smile. She smiles back. He gently takes her hand, looks lovingly into her eyes and says, "My love, you have made me the happiest man alive. I love you more than you can possibly imagine and I promise you that I will be the most loving of husbands. Of that you can be sure", he tells her. _

They are both gazing into each other's eyes. He gently embraces her and gives her the lightest of kisses.

"Thank you Henry", Danielle lovingly tells him.

"Let the festivities begin", Henry announces to his audience.

Henry and Danielle are having a wonderful time. Danielle cannot believe that she isn't a servant anymore and that she is going to be Henry's wife. She pinches herself to see if it's all real.

"It's real my love", Henry tells her, while holding her close. "It seems like it's a dream", she tells him.

"Yes, I know it does. You are my dream come true." Henry lovingly tells her.

"You will be staying at the castle tonight Danielle and I will send a messenger over to the Manor to tell your friends. Tomorrow we shall start the wedding plans.", he tells her.

"I want to write a note to Maurice, Louise and Paulette to tell them the wonderful news", she informs Henry.

Danielle knew that tonight she would sleep contently for the first time in a very long time and have the most wonderful dreams. She would be dreaming of her Henry, the love of her life.

A new chapter was about to enfold in her life and she couldn't wait to experience it. Danielle knew that she and Henry would most certainly live happily ever after.

**Note to readers: I don't know what else I could add to this story. I really don't want to duplicate it like I did in my other story; Love Lost Found. If anyone has any ideas, please let me know and if I have time, I will continue. I might even start a new short story, if time allows.**

**Thank you to those who left me reviews. I really appreciate it.**


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